So Frankly...

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Ticket to Ride - 10th Anniversary Edition

A few years ago I wrote a review of Ticket to Ride, a fantastic game by Days of Wonder. What I said then still holds true: no one has ever told
me they dislike it. Both gamers and non-gamers alike are drawn to this game.

Ticket to Ride was released in 2004, and one the Spiel des Jahres. While there have been some innovative new mechanisms in games, this game would still be a contender for the award today, ten years later. Days of Wonder is actually putting out a 10th anniversary edition in commemoration, and it just gets better and better.

The artwork in Ticket to Ride has been updated with new illustrations, but still retains thatVictorian, Around the World in 80 Days feel. It's larger too; the board is actually 50% bigger than earlier versions.

New artwork, same Victorian feel! (Promotional image by Days of Wonder)

The box will need to be bigger too, since the train cars, which are actually more like pre-painted miniatures, come in tins. There is one tin for each player: circus cars, cabooses, passenger cars coal cars and oil cars.

Beautiful miniature trains for the game pieces
(Promotional image by Days of Wonder)

The biggest complaint I had against the original Ticket to Ride has been answered too. In the original, the playing cards were very small: almost half the size of a typical playing card. We solved this by purchasing the 1910 expansion, which had standard size cards. The anniversary edition will come with standard cards. All the same, Days of Wonder tossed the expansion into the box too!

Full size cards sport new artwork.
(Promotional image by Days of Wonder)

This news is great for my wife and myself. You see, our son is the one who actually owns Ticket to Ride in our house. Of course, when he goes away to college, he'll take that with him. Let me rephrase that: he'll take that with him.
So, obviously, it only make sense that we will get a copy of the 10th
anniversary edition for our shelves. Oh, I misspoke again: we will get a copy of the 10th anniversary edition. You should too.